The sun had barely risen, yet the academy's Trial Sector was alive with activity. Students from every class stood gathered at the edge of a synthetic forest — tall metal walls encased the zone like a prison.
Cain stood near the back, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
> "Welcome to Phase Two," boomed an instructor through a floating drone. "You'll be placed in groups of six and dropped into the Zone. Survive for one hour. Eliminate enemy teams. Earn points."
The drone paused.
> "But one of you has been chosen as a... special target."
Students murmured. Cain's eyes narrowed.
> "This individual will not be assigned a team. Every other group receives a bonus if they defeat him. He will start alone, at the zone's center."
The drone hovered toward Cain.
> "Cain Valen. Step forward."
Gasps followed. Whispers surged.
> "They're hunting him?"
> "That's suicide."
> "No Gear, no squad? He's dead."
Cain simply exhaled. The same old treatment — just wrapped in academy colors.
An instructor handed him a wristband tracker and tossed a stun blade at his feet. "You'll need that."
> "Let them come," Cain muttered. "I'll send them all back limping."
---
Inside Zone 7, the artificial jungle was dense and humid. Birds chirped — robotic ones. The terrain was meant to disorient. Vines, puddles, uneven ground, and high ledges.
Cain moved like water — fast, focused, silent. His first encounter came quickly.
A team of three from D-Class spotted him from a ridge.
> "That's him! All at once!"
One fired a stun dart. Cain dodged.
He surged forward. In five seconds, all three were down. A blade to the knee, a blow to the chest, one kicked into a tree. Cain left them groaning, taking only their map module.
> "Too loud," he whispered. "Gotta move faster."
---
Elsewhere, in the academy's surveillance center, instructors watched closely.
> "He's downed eight already. Alone."
> "Still no Gear activation?"
> "None."
The shadowy director leaned forward. "He's adapting. Calculating. That's not a boy — it's a weapon learning to aim."
---
Back in Zone 7, Cain was bleeding. Not from a hit — from exhaustion.
Two full teams had come at him in the last fifteen minutes. The forest floor was littered with dropped weapons and unconscious trainees.
Then he heard it: footsteps. Calm. Deliberate.
From the trees emerged Iris Kyrell, alone.
> "You made it fun, Cain," she said, eyes gleaming. "But it's time I see what you really are."
Cain raised his blade. "You're joining the hunt?"
> "No. I'm ending it."
They clashed.
She was fast — faster than anyone he'd faced. Her blade burned with violet energy, cutting the air like lightning.
Cain barely dodged, the force sending him skidding back.
> "You're not trying to win," he growled. "You're testing me."
> "Smart boy," Iris replied. "Let's see if your instincts are real... or just luck."